The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation is studying the issue of state regulation of prices for beer, cider and mead

The Russian Ministry of Finance is studying the feasibility of introducing state regulation of prices for a number of alcoholic beverages in the country – beer, cider, poire and mead. Earlier, the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy asked the department to study this issue and explore the possibility of partial state regulation of alcohol prices.

“Appeal [думского комитета] received by the government of the Russian Federation and sent to the Ministry of Finance of Russia for expert study,” they reported TASS in the press service of the Russian government.

In July of this year, the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy recommended that the Ministry of Finance consider introducing minimum retail prices (MRP) for beer and cider, strengthening control over the sale of bottled drinks up to a complete ban, and creating a register of distributors. The Ministry of Finance was also asked to think about changing the concept of “beer drink” to “special beer” with the development of new standards. In addition, Anton Siluanov’s department was asked to study the possibility of expanding the list of alcoholic beverages subject to state price regulation. The recommendations were adopted against the background of mass alcohol poisoning in a number of regions of the Russian Federation.

Read more in the article “Kommersant” “Like a cider goat”.

Alexander Kislov